Help wanted: Lawyer for the OC Fair

Staff at the Orange County Fairgrounds are still figuring out who will answer their legal questions now that they've been dropped by the state Attorney General's office.

The AG, which represents the fair, has told the Orange County Fair Board to find a new lawyer because of potential conflicts of interest involving the proposed sale of the fairgrounds, a Department of Justice memo says.

The issue: Fair board members have formed a nonprofit foundation that's considering buying the 150-acre site. The AG says the fairgrounds should find a new lawyer until this whole sale of the fair mess is resolved.

"Our office cannot represent the District Board members ... nor may we advise the nonprofit or its board," according to a Dec. 1 memo sent to Fair Board Chairwoman Kristina Dodge from Chief Assistant Attorney General Matthew Rodriquez. "Given the seemingly intertwined and potentially conflicting interests of the District, the District Board members and the nonprofit, we have determined that we should withdraw from providing legal services."

Fairgrounds staffers are still "evaluating the AG's decision and our options...

"We intend to seek counsel but it is still too early to determine what the process will entail," spokeswoman Robin Wachner said. "It hasn't affected our day to day business at this time."

Still, the change presents some prickly problems. For example, who is going to provide legal guidance in responding to public records requests?

Fair board staff already has been hammered with requests since the land was offered for sale in October. Responding to them hasn't happened as quickly as the Watchdog would prefer, or sometimes the law for that matter.

For example, the Watchdog on Nov. 17 requested a copy of the fairgrounds' contract with with former State Sen. Dick Ackerman and his law firm. We didn't get a response until late Friday -- after the 10-day deadline.

Wachner said thought she had emailed saying the fairgrounds planned to take an extension, but the email never arrived. (She emailed over the text she meant to send this afternoon.)

"There's been so many requests that if I didn't send it, it was inadvertent," Wachner said. "This is all so new ... We're just trying to feel the way through this like the rest of you. I get tons of phone calls and emails about this. There's so many, it's crazy."

Regardless, the response didn't add much insight into Ackerman's role in advising the fair board on the sale of the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds won't provide a copy of the contract because they say they don't have it -- the firm was hired as a subcontractor to a different consultant for the fair.

Why do we care? Well, the Orange County District Attorney's office is investigating whether the fair board broke the law in approving the contract. Lawyers for Orange County allege that the fairgrounds hired Ackerman's firm to lobby so that their nonprofit would qualify to bid for the land. If the nonprofit foundation is successful in buying the fairgrounds, its board of directors could get free parking and concert tickets, the county complaint says. In other words -- fair board members spent public money on a lobbying contract that could eventually lead to personal perks.

But board chairwoman Kristina Dodge says that Ackerman and the law firm Nossaman LLP, was hired to help the fairgrounds navigate the complicated process of the fairgrounds sale.

"I can tell you that Dick Ackerman, to the best of my knowledge, was not ever hired to influence or change any wording or contracting of the rfp," Dodge said in an interview last month. "I'm not sure where that's coming from."

The Watchdog called Ackerman this morning and hasn't heard back yet. A secretary for Dodge said she wasn't available to talk today.

The one-page response from the fairgrounds still leaves questions: "Nossaman advised the 32nd DAA Board of Directors (fair board) regarding the State of California's intention to offer the OC Fairgrounds property for sale."

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